BACKGROUND: Conflicting results were obtained in the assay of anti-transglutaminase (anti-tTG) autoantibodies in patients with chronic liver disease. In order to establish whether this was attributable to methodological differences, anti-tTG antibodies were assayed in a large number of patients suffering from liver cirrhosis (LC). METHODS: 54 patients with LC and 29 patients suffering from celiac disease (CD), used as controls, were tested for IgA and IgG anti-tTG with 11 different commercial methods. RESULTS: In the patients with LC, positivity ranged from 0% to 33.3% for IgA anti-tTG and from 0% to 11.1% for anti-tTG of the IgG class. The largest number of false positives was found with methods that used tTG in association with gliadin peptides as antigen substrate. A significant association was found between IgA anti-tTG antibodies and serum immunoglobulin concentration. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the various methods of assaying anti-tTG antibodies in patients with LC are highly variable, and the positives found are generally false positives, partly due to the high immunoglobulin concentration.
BACKGROUND: Conflicting results were obtained in the assay of anti-transglutaminase (anti-tTG) autoantibodies in patients with chronic liver disease. In order to establish whether this was attributable to methodological differences, anti-tTG antibodies were assayed in a large number of patients suffering from liver cirrhosis (LC). METHODS: 54 patients with LC and 29 patients suffering from celiac disease (CD), used as controls, were tested for IgA and IgG anti-tTG with 11 different commercial methods. RESULTS: In the patients with LC, positivity ranged from 0% to 33.3% for IgA anti-tTG and from 0% to 11.1% for anti-tTG of the IgG class. The largest number of false positives was found with methods that used tTG in association with gliadin peptides as antigen substrate. A significant association was found between IgA anti-tTG antibodies and serum immunoglobulin concentration. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the various methods of assaying anti-tTG antibodies in patients with LC are highly variable, and the positives found are generally false positives, partly due to the high immunoglobulin concentration.
Authors: Jonas F Ludvigsson; Timothy R Card; Katri Kaukinen; Julio Bai; Fabiana Zingone; David S Sanders; Joseph A Murray Journal: United European Gastroenterol J Date: 2015-04 Impact factor: 4.623
Authors: Alberto Rubio-Tapia; Ahmad S Abdulkarim; Russell H Wiesner; S Breanndan Moore; Patricia K Krause; Joseph A Murray Journal: Liver Int Date: 2008-04 Impact factor: 5.828